Under the Mistletoe
by gins-potter
Summary: Eddie didn't know who was to blame for the mistletoe but when he found out he was going to kick their ass. Written for the "Kissing under the mistletoe is overrated - go big or go home" prompt of the Christmas Advent Calendar hosted on the I'm Your Buddie Discord server.


Eddie didn't know who was to blame for the mistletoe but when he found out he was going to kick their ass.

It was the 118's annual Christmas party with the firefighters of all three shifts along with their partners and children crammed into the station. And whoever had decorated this year had gone all out, which for reasons Eddie didn't quite understand involved mistletoe tucked into every nook and cranny. He had strong suspicions that Chim had something to do with it if the glee he was showing every time someone got caught under a sprig was anything to go by. And if it wasn't his work, he was still taking full advantage of it having spent the entire night dragging Maddie under every bit he could find, using it as an excuse to kiss her senseless, much to her brother's disgust.

Speaking of, Eddie caught sight of Buck across the apparatus floor by the tables of deserts and made an immediate beeline for him, careful to steer clear of the countless bunches of mistletoe strung up between them. Buck himself was edging around the perimeter of yet another branch when Eddie reached him, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the blatant disappointment radiating off the woman hanging around hopefully underneath it.

His grin widened further when he noticed that Buck was trying to sneak yet another of Karen's famous chocolate and peppermint cookies. His friend was looking casually around (although purposefully not making eye contact with the woman under the mistletoe) even as his hand crept towards the plate of cookies.

"Dangerous times," Eddie commented slyly, and Buck almost jumped out of his skin. He relaxed when he realised it was only Eddie, and quickly snagged the cookie he had his heart set on and crammed it into his mouth, furrowing his brow at Eddie. "I don't know what scares you more, the mistletoe or the possibility that Karen might catch you."

Buck swallowed and took a moment to lick his lips - and Eddie resolutely ignored the swoop of his stomach at the sight - before smiling at him. "Well, Karen did threaten me with all worlds of pain if I hoarded all her cookies again this year. But that mistletoe…" Buck trailed off; he glanced quickly at the woman under the mistletoe who winked brazenly at him and he looked away, shuddering theatrically.

"I know what you mean. One of the guys from first shift almost caught me under some earlier."

Something flickered in Buck's eyes, but it was there and gone too quickly for Eddie to properly identify it. He was soon distracted by the woman under the mistletoe, someone's sister who tagged along Eddie thought, who seemed to have given up hope that Buck would accidentally stumble underneath it, and was now heading their way, a very determined look on her face.

"Incoming," Eddie muttered. Buck gulped down another of Karen's cookies nervously and together they edged further along the table, pretending to be fascinated by the large punch bowl of eggnog at the end.

They didn't realise their mistake until they heard Chimney's cry of triumph, and he pointed above their heads. In their hurry to escape Buck's overeager admirer they hadn't been looking where they'd been going and had unknowingly and unwillingly stepped under a bunch of mistletoe.

Together.

Distantly, Eddie felt an acute sense of betrayal that the mistletoe that had done them in had been fixed to a firetruck, _their _firetruck. Chim was laughing, a teasing grin on his face as he resolutely refused Buck, who was stepping away and trying to convince him to let them escape without the required liplock.

"Ah, come on, Chim," Buck said, and to the casual listener he might have sounded genial, but Eddie knew him, and therefore could hear the slight and uncharacteristic edge to his voice. "You've had your fun. You really gonna make _us _do this?"

Chim's grin widened, ever the troublemaker. "Rules are rules, Buckley. Never knew you to complain so much about having to kiss someone."

Buck just rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath that Eddie didn't quite catch. But Chim's words had caught his attention, and he turned them over in his head, wondering why Buck _was _so miffed this time. Sure they'd both spent the entire evening trying to avoid this very situation, but when Buck had been caught earlier with Hen he'd just grinned and planted a loud kiss on her cheek. And Chim was right, Buck never complained about having to kiss someone. Unless Buck had a problem kissing him, Eddie wondered, frowning at his friend. He knew it wasn't that he was a guy, but maybe that was one line in their friendship Buck didn't want to cross.

It was only when Buck turned, ignoring the growing number of people looking at them along with Chim who was saying something else now, and glanced at Eddie, that he got it. Buck was worried about _him. _He could see it in his eyes; concern. Buck had no problem with kissing him, he just didn't want Eddie to feel forced into doing something he didn't want to do.

And it was knowing that, knowing that Buck was willing to kiss him (and maybe even wanted to a little bit?) that had Eddie stepping forward, hooking his fingers through the belt loops of Buck's jeans and pulling him closer. He only had a moment to desperately hope that Christopher was still distracted by the christmas games Bobby had set up for the kids, before only a breath separated he and Buck.

And then they were kissing, and Eddie only had two thoughts on his mind, making this the kiss of Buck's goddamn life, and shocking that smug smile right off Chim's face.

The first thing Eddie noticed was the bite of peppermint on Buck's lips, the sweet taste of chocolate following right on it's heels. The second was that Buck kissed nothing like Eddie might have imagined. He might have thought that Buck's kissing would have been like anything else he did, an overeager force that sometimes jumped in when maybe he should have held back a second or two. In reality Buck was anything but. He kissed slowly, gently, like he was mapping every inch of Eddie's lips and committing the taste to memory. But there was a playfulness as well, a smile Eddie could feel against his own as Buck pulled back to nip at his bottom lip, a sting that he soothed with a brush of his tongue.

Unbidden, Eddie's hand slid around Buck's waist, and up the back of his button up, a touch that made Buck shiver and squirm closer. His own hands, one on Eddie's hip, the other on the back of his neck clenched involuntarily, and Eddie couldn't help the quiet moan he uttered as the hairs Buck was toying with were tugged gently.

Eddie didn't know how long they stood there, touching each other, tasting each other, but it felt simultaneously like forever, and not nearly long enough for him when they slowly drew apart - only far enough back so they could look at each other. Eddie's hands twitched, and he had the sudden desire to never step away, to never stop exploring Buck's warm skin, even though people were staring.

"Hey," Buck said quietly, and Eddie almost groaned. His lips were red from the kiss and Eddie couldn't look away from them until Buck continued and said, "That was…" Eddie glanced up to find Buck smiling hesitantly at him even as he trailed away.

"I'm never saying a word against mistletoe again," Eddie blurted out, and Buck's smile widened as he chuckled in relief.

People started to turn away now that it was clear the entertainment was over, but not those who knew Buck and Eddie best. Hen had her hand over her mouth, Athena's eyebrows had climbed high on her forehead, and Chim looked so shocked that it seemed like he may never speak again. The only people who didn't seem surprised by the turn of events was a smiling Maddie, and a smirking Bobby. But none of that mattered now, they could deal with everything else later, all Buck and Eddie cared about was each other (and the mistletoe still hanging over their heads).

**This was written for the ****Christmas Advent Calendar hosted on the I'm Your Buddie Discord server. The prompt was day 10: "Kissing under the mistletoe is overrated - go big or go home". Hope you enjoyed it - its my first time writing for 9-1-1 so I'm hoping I did it justice :D**


End file.
